Common File-Types & Formats
Introduction
You will interact and use many different types of files and their formats in your language technology journey.
This article contains introductory information on some common file-types and formats. Learn more about how and when you would expect to use each of these tools.
Terminology
File-Type
File-types and formats are technically different things. In this article, we will use both terms for the most part interchangeably.
Technically, file-type relates to the file extension or application related to the file.
File Format
File formats relate to the structure, metadata, and how the information is stored/contained.
Lossy
Lossy means that the file has had irreversible compression of data, discarding of ‘non-essential’ information. It is used to reduce file size and improve storage. These files are usually better for sharing or streaming.
Lossless
Lossless means that the file still has its full reconstruction of data, which preserves all information. Lossless preservation results in larger files, which are better to edit.
Compression
Compression is essentially using few bits/data to represent information. It results in the file shrinking to be easier to store and share. Compression and lossy-ness often correspond in files, but not always. PNG image files are both compressed but lossless.
Types of Files
How to Read the Chart
Check out what each column means below:
File Extension
The three-to-four-character code that you can use to identify the file type or format on your device.
File Name
The full name of the file-type/ format
Media
What type of content the file container/type stores (e.g., audio, audio/video, text etc.)
Compressed (Y/N)?
Does the file irreversibly get excess non-essential data removed to reduce its size?
Compression is an irreversible method to improve storage and shareability by shrinking the amount of excess data a file contains.
File Extension | File Name | Media | Compressed (Y/N)? | Lossy or Lossless? | Best For |
.wav | Waveform Audio File | Audio | N | Lossless | Archiving/Editing |
.mp3 | Moving Picture Experts Group | Audio | Y | Lossy | Uploading/Sharing |
.mp4 | MPEG-4 Part 14 | Audio/Video | Y | Lossy | Archiving/Editing /Uploading/Sharing |
.tiff or .tif | Tag Image File Format | Image | Y | Lossless | Archiving |
.mov | Quick Time File Format | Audio/Video | N | Lossless | Archiving/Editing (Mac/Apple) |
.avi | Audio Video Interleave | Audio/Video | N | Lossless | Archiving/Editing (PC/Windows) |
.jpeg | Joint Photographic Experts Group | Image | Y | Lossy | Uploading/Sharing |
.png | Portable Network Graphics | Image | Y | Lossless
| Archiving/Editing /Uploading/Sharing |
.aup | Audacity Project File | Software Specific | N | Lossless | Audacity Software Editing |
.eaf | ELAN Annotation Format | Software Specific | N | Lossless | ELAN Software Editing |
.txt | Text | Text | N | Lossless | Basic Text |
.srt | SubRip Text File | Text | N | Lossless | Subtitles |
Differences in File Use
Best for Archiving
Audio-files | Audio-Visual files | Image files |
|---|---|---|
WAV | AVI | TIFF |
MP4 (Broadly) | PNG |
Best for Editing
Audio-files | Audio-Visual files | Image files |
|---|---|---|
WAV | MP4 (Broadly) | PNG |
Best for FirstVoices/Streaming
Audio-files | Audio-Visual files | Image files |
|---|---|---|
MP3 | MP4 | PNG |
via link (YouTube/Vimeo) | JPEG |
Software Specific Files
There are some file-types that are also software specific. You will need to keep track of these files in order to access and edit media in each respective software.
Common software specific project files include:
Software | File extension | Use |
|---|---|---|
Audacity | .aup | Audio-recording & editing |
ELAN | .eaf | Transcription |
You might also come across .txt files or .srt files.
These are types of text files, which can be used to keep notes or store written information.
.srt files are a subtitling format as well. You can use ELAN to export .srt files to subtitle videos in your language. Learn more about this process, here: https://firstvoices.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/DIGI/pages/1278174
For quick reference on the job, print out or save this handy comparison chart:
